I have had the same issues. 2 engines both at 86k miles. At 175k. The same issues appeared again. Car exclusively maintained by Nissan service. First engine was good willed but the second d o a. Very disappointed. I spent thousands on maintaince and should get more than 90k from a high tech engine. Took car to a good street mechanic who discovered a bad PVC valve. Why couldn't Nissan figure this basic problem. Also had 3 catalytic converters replaced in this car. Oil caused that problem. The particles from the cat most likely got sucked into the engine. Who knows at this point. Trying to salvage the engine with stop smoke to possibly seal rings or cylinders.

My check engine light just came on this weekend. Had it checked out at Advance Auto Parts and they said that it read "Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold" and that the bank 1 02 sensor needed to be replaced.

I'm trading the car in within the next 4 weeks and really don't want to lay out the cash for the repairs. Is there any way to reset the error code? Anyone have any idea what this would likely cost to repair? Any other recommedations?

The O2 sensor just screws into the exhaust like a spark plug and then has a wire harness that plugs into the back side. It's a 15 minute repair. I'm not sure what the cost of the part is, just check with Advance or Autozone. I replaced mine a couple of years ago and I think they were like $70 each if I remember right.

As far as a grinding noise that is not right, The oil all firestone service centers use in Kendall so its very good, the high mileage oil has additives to swell seals and slow leaks, other than that its the same good old kendall oil, at alot of places like fast lubes they offer high mileage oil and new car formula, its the same oil they pump it from the same tank, the kendall stuff is actually two different formulas, or at least it comes in seperate barrels as far as the actual composition i cant say.

Is the noise actually a grinding? or is is a knock and a tick. those nissan V6s are notoriously loud, And after long periods of neglect not changing oil and so on they do become noisy after a change the sludge is actually deadening noise it was already doing it it just wasnt obvious. but thats only a tick or a knock. it sounds like if it is the engine and it goes away after the revs build its a oil pressure issue or lack of at startup, another symptom of neglect. alot of times gunk can keep oil up in the engine and prevent circulation. Ive seen quite a few engines only have a quart come out of the pan and the top end will be swimming in oil. not good. if there is an actual metal on metal grind that is something different, I suggest you open the hood have someone start the engine and listen If there is a tempo or a rythym to the noise like tap tap tap tap tap or anything repeating at interval its valvetrain noise or a low end knock, If its a growl like brakes that are metal on metal take the car back to the Firestone and make someone come out and point out the sound. An oil change alone will not cause a problem unless there was something done wrong or the engine was so beyond the pale the gunk was actually glueing it together. One example of that was a customer brought in a Toyota pickup V6 with 65k on it for the first oil change, Pulling the plug resulted in nothing coming out and the dipstick was almost cemented in the tube, after a waiver was signed I pulled the pan to try and clean it and a thick semi solid goo was all that was left of the oil, After the flush and change the motor siezed. But that is the absolute worst case scenario. Having Worked At a firestone For over 5 years and at a fastlube for 5 years before that I can tell you they must look at the car and it has to be free if you have a complaint about the service.

Wondering if you ever got a response and found out the smoking problem? I am worried my air bag could deploy at any time, and my kids drive the car. I believe it is coming from out of the white wire connection at the left hand side, top of the steering column. I have removed the shroud and when it was smoking today I thought it was coming from there so I rubbed my finger underneath the white housing for that wire harness and it was slightly black and smelled of burnt plastic. I have no idea what that wire connection is. I do not want to simply pull them out because of the air bag.

My 2005 Nissan Maxima wouldn't start but I got a friend to jump me off and it started right up. A couple days later my car was completely dead and a jump wouldn't do anything. I figured it was the battery so I went and got a new one but my cables won't fit the new one because the original battery just had a screw to hook up to. Do they make an adapter for this, or does it definitely sound like my battery is the problem?

Hi, I have a 2001 that I bought in 2004 and I love it. I now have 125,000 miles on it, and I believe mine had about the same amount of mileage that yours has. I do take good care of it maintenance wise, but honestly, I would recommend this car and I would buy it again! Happy New Year!!!!

I have a 2001 Nissan Maxima that will not stay running in the cold weather. Whenever it gets below about 40 degrees outside I can start it up just fine, but then it will immediately die out after a few seconds. If I push on the gas pedal it will stay running and once the car warms up it will stay running. I have tried a few different things but nothing seems to work. It still won't stay running in the cold...and it sucks not being able to warm up your car in the morning. Any thoughts or suggestions?

I have an '01 Maxima that we have loved dearly. It has 132,000 miles on it. Up until last year, it required very little in the way of repairs -- just the things you would expect from a 10+ year old car. But in the last year it has had one repair after another. The latest diagnosis, after the check engine, tcs and slip lights came on intermittently and it would jerk and run rough, is that the coils need replacing. I have seen that this car is said to have problems with coils, but that hasn't been the case for us -- these are the original coils. It is an expensive repair though. Is it time to think about looking for a new car? I'm essentially paying around $170/month for the last 6 months (and now at least 3 months in the future) for repair bills. After each one I tell myself that now it will run fine for some time, but doubt is creeping in.

No, they are generally right. They did say that on this model you can't tell which particular coil is bad. Spark plugs were replaced 6 months ago so it can't be them.They are not a shop that gouges people and I think they are figuring that after 12 years if one coil is still fine it probably won't be for very long anyway. There are 6 coils.

The other things have been fairly straightforward. A broken radiator fan. Alternator. Starter. Battery (the big 3 of electrical problems). It's just the never-endingness of it all that is starting to get to me. Plus with two of them, we had just come back from a long trip. I keep thinking, what if it had conked out on some godforsaken highway. I've always felt this was a very dependable car. I'm just wondering if that's still the case.

Well it all sounds like normal wear and tear--you'd probably experience similar repairs on a Mercedes Benz or BMW.

Given that a modern car has a predictable (statistical) lifespan of say 175K to 225K, and that you are already in the second half of that life span (which is generally, not the best half---same as people! :P ), then you have to weigh the expected costs of upkeep against new car payments.

The car may settle down, but it'll always be something on an old car. I'm sure a new Maxima would cost you easily 2X as much per month, or more.

hmmm, I have an '01 Maxima too, with 123,000 miles. While I have had some repairs over the past year, nothing major or too costly. I was having similar thoughts about getting a new car. It's a hard call whether to get a new car or not. I'd give myself a deadline of say three months more, and then if the problem still persists, perhaps it is time. Also, I understand because I would say well, I've already put this amount of money into it surely all the car's issues must have been fixed by now! Let us know what you end up doing! Good luck, I must admit, I have really loved my car and would not like to get rid of it either.

We decided to go ahead and get it repaired this time. But we're going to start looking at new cars so if something else goes wrong we'll have an idea at least of what we want. I think we're at the "one more thing" stage and then it will be time to move on.

I bought this car in 2001 with 26k, 12 years later I have 147k miles and have had no major issues until now. All of a sudden the car is stalling while in gear sitting at a stop sign/light. If I put it into neutral while at a stop it does not stall. Dealer has looked at it several times, I have replaced the Mass Air Flow Meter; EGR valve, complete fuel injector/system clean out, etc. The check engine light does not come on and no codes register when they run diagnostic. Took it to Firestone for a different set of eyes, they checked every sensor and claim they found no problems. I am at a complete loss, no one seems to be able to figure this one out. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I absolutely adore this car and do not want to sell/trade it. Would really like to figure this out before I have to make that decision.

i know its a late reply but this might help people in the future that search this. it is a 8 times out of 10 it is the "idle air control valve" it could also be the egr valve sticking and not shutting all the way. turn the screw on the IACV and up the idle a bit then reset the throttle position sensor. maybe the IACV has a slight carbon build up and the valve is restricted to the point that it cant allow the air the car needs to idle after a cold start. hope this helps someone.

I bought a Maxima 2004 in Nov and costed 8000$ and I feel cheated. After spending quiet a bit for -- Axles, Rear brakes rotors, Tires, Control Arms and tie rods, engine mounts, Regular fluids

It still has some problems. The mechanic says the spark plugs, front brakepads has to be changed

Recently it has started sputtering. When I took it to the dealer-mechanic he mentioned a vaccumm leak and told it is fixed. However in the next couple of days it again started. Now the mechanic says there is a bigger problem with the car, starting with fuel injection cleaning to probably some chains that are making noise and might cost upto 3k.

I had mentioned to the mechanic that I am fed up of dealing with the maintainance and planning to get a new car. Not sure whether the mechanic is pushing towards me buying a new car.

Here are my questions 1. Is the mechanic pushing me to go for a new car at the dealer? Does these happen?2. Should I go for a new car or go for some more maintenance ? (Financially might be tough but would be better for mental peace)

MY NISSAN MAXIMA 1996 MODEL CAR HAVING PROBLEM WITH, WHILE DRIVING SOMETIMES GETTING VERY LOW RACE AND STOPPING, AGAIN I WANT TO START AND RUN. CHANGED SPARK PLUG, FUEL FILTER AND CLEAN MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR.PLEASE GIVE ADVICE TO HOW I CAN SOLVE THE PROBLEM

Unfortunately, the mechanic may be shady and trying to push you to buy a new car at the dealer, why? i dont know. its not like he would be getting paid for selling a new car in any normal pay structure, there may be under the table incentives but i cant say for sure, He would most likely make more doing all of the repairs. however if you had a complaint with your car and paid for an inspection and then paid to repair "the cause" and it didnt fix it, you need to take it back with your receipt and get a refund, that car has an obd2 system on it so diagnosing problems is as easy as plugging in a scanner and starting the car. If it was a Nissan dealership especially they would have access to absolutely everything they needed to properly identify the trouble codes and what the problem is and they will have manufacturer support and know every little common problem. and the experience with those cars to know exactly what causes certain symptoms, models of cars and certain engines have certain problems, and they are common, so its not hard to find the source.

do you have a check engine light on? and did the dealer give you the trouble code that popped up when they told you you had a vacuum leak? they should. if you have it post it and I can check my Mitchell on demand car care program for the cause and give you an answer.

Buying a different car may leave you with the same issues on that new car since your probably talking about buying another used car, What i suggest you do is get a quote on a timing belt water pump replacement and a fuel injection cleaning, and the spark plugs from that dealer, and then call around and ask for quotes on that same job elsewhere, you will always pay more for everything at a dealership, even if its just a small used car dealership. Go to a Chain repair shop like Firestone or whatever, because 3 thousand seems very very high for a 120-180$ tune up, a $100 dollar fuel system clean and an 8-1200$ timing belt job.

Also some advice I want to give is dont let yourself be intimidated into not asking questions, know exactly what your paying for, ask in no uncertain terms the question "if i pay for this, it will fix my car correct"? then ask "If you say i need all this done to fix the car and it doesnt, what will you do for me then?" Ive worked in quite a few different shops and have seen all manner of mechanics and sales people from the dead honest to the completely unscrupulous. And more often than not there are both types of people working at the same shop.

For instance, Ford Expeditions have a very over sensitive fuel pump cutoff switch in the passenger kick panel, a whack with your foot will trip this sensor into thinking the car has been in a collision and to cut the fuel pump, rendering the car stuck, its a super common problem and "standard" procedure is to make the customer pay a $100 "inspection fee" and another 60$ to "fix" it ( pull 2 screws out and press one button).

A woman came in in a tow truck with her kids, her expedition just wouldnt start, she was in tears, her kids were crying it was just a bad day, I heard her say she went into a store for 10 minutes and it just wouldnt start, the truck had less than 20,000 miles on it, so before she was able to go into the office and get hosed by my jerkoff ex boss, I ran out there asked her for the keys, popped that one panel off and reset the switch, started the truck, and told her to be on her way, I showed her where the reset was I told her to try that first if the truck ever fails to start. She asked where to pay I told her it was free, I said I couldnt charge her for 2 minutes of my time, a 200$ tow bill was bad enough. My boss had come outside at that point wondering what I was doing and why she was leaving, I hoped she wouldnt say anything and just leave, but she was understandably appreciative and told him what I had done, well I ended up getting written up and deducted the labor cost of what the "repair" would have been out of my pay, it was just under 2 hours at 17.50 an hour so i lost a good chunk of change. And had to listen to a lecture on how thats not how you run a business. We had a "where did you hear about us" question on the intake forms and over the next few weeks about 20 people came in saying they heard from that woman what a great shop we had and to bring there cars to us. Not to mention she became a customer for life and spent over 3k the next month completely fixing up her old car for her oldest daughter to start driving. She always asked for me personally to work on her cars and then when I changed shops in the same chain of stores she brought her cars to the new location I was working at, even though it was farther out of her way.

I wish I could give you a more certain answer to your questions, but I would need to see the car first, and I dont know the mechanic. So im just speculating. But you do need to either get a refund for the "repairs" that didnt fix anything, or get credit toward your next repair. Also shop around for the best quote, you dont have to take it to the dealer, you can ask for all your service records and take those to any shop. Even under warranty you do not have to take a car to the dealer for oil changes or any other basic stuff. As long as its done and you have a receipt your warranty is intact, but since its used and you have paid to fix all these problems im assuming you dont have one.

That should be another red flag if you do decide to buy another car, first I recommend buying from a private seller in cash, you get a better deal dealerships charge waaaaaay to much, 8k for that maxima with all those problems was a ripoff an 04 maxima in fantastic shape is an $8,000 car . Avoid Dealer cars that have no warranty, they have the mechanics look the cars over and if they arent willing to back it up you can be certain you will need major work in less than a year You have probably spent close to $2,000 on that car already on repairs, so you spent 10k on that Maxima, and have just been quoted another 3k. And for 13k you can buy a 1-2 year old Hyundai that are fantastic cars, Kia is ok but they have cheaper construction, door handles window cranks and interior stuff breaks alot and most of the engine is aluminum so it wears quickly

Also if you do decide to buy another car whatever the dealer is asking take 3 thousand off of it and set that as your MAXIMUM your willing to spend on that car with tax title and license fee included, if they show you a blue book Value ask to see the blue book itself and then look at the condition rating, if they say the car is in Very good condition look at the fair condition value and thats closer to the real value, And also if they are Asking for top KBB value and dont offer a warranty there is something seriously wrong, if the car has the Very good price it should be in very good condition, th